Forever embedded in the city's football history, John Unitas and his fellow Hall of Fame Baltimore Colts will now become permanent parts of Ravens Stadium.
At the Ravens' next home game on Oct. 20, the team will unveil a statue of Unitas and dedicate the front area of the stadium's main entrance as Unitas Plaza. The tribute will take place during a halftime ceremony of the Ravens-Jacksonville Jaguars game in which the Ravens will place all eight Hall of Fame Colts in the Ring of Honor.
The Ravens will make an official announcement of these events today.
Unitas, the legendary quarterback who led the Baltimore Colts to championships in the 1958, 1959 and 1970 seasons, died Sept. 11 of a heart attack at 69.
"We thought we understood how important Johnny and the Colts were to this community," Ravens owner Art Modell said. "But we saw an even deeper devotion when John passed. We've paid tribute to the history of Baltimore football since we've arrived but we felt we had to do more when John died. That's why we're adding him and the Hall of Fame Baltimore Colts to our Ring of Honor."
While a part of the property will be named for Unitas, the entire stadium or the field will not be. Unitas Plaza puts an end to the idea of Unitas Field. Also rejected is the push to rename the stadium in his honor.
Since Unitas' death, 56,934 people have signed an online petition urging the Ravens to call the facility "Johnny Unitas Memorial Stadium." Previously it was named for PSINet, a Virginia company that became insolvent.
"It would be great to name the stadium after a great man like John Unitas or call it Memorial Stadium or Schaefer Stadium, but that's not the reality of our business these days," said Kevin Byrne, the Ravens' vice president of public and community relations. "Like we've said since 1998, there is a competitive reality involved in stadium naming rights. We need and depend on those funds."
The 13-foot statue - which features Unitas throwing - will stand at the center of the main entrance. Temporary "Unitas Plaza" signage will hang on the stadium's north side, and the Ravens will erect permanent displays before the start of the 2003 season.
Unitas will also be the centerpiece of the Colts addition to the Ring of Honor. The Colts franchise moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984.
The lettering that will hang will read: 19 24 70 77 John Unitas and the Baltimore Colts 82 83 88 89
